I found that wedding version of “Real Simple” magazine had a wonderful checklist, as does “The Knot” website. A date, venue, and officiant are the first things to find. You honestly get married without those three things! If you hire a wedding planner or consultant, that should be done now as well.

I have no idea what your budget, tastes, or wedding types are, but the Pendennis Club in Louisville is amazing, and the food was excellent.

Well we haven’t established an exact budget, but I know my dress and the venue will be paid for by my wonderful mother. The rest (photography, catering, flowers, etc.) will be split between us and my mom. She basically plans on absorbing any cost we can’t afford. That said, I would estimate our budget at around $10,000.

As for our feel, we want a garden ceremony with an indoor or tented reception. Our colors are peacock-inspired purple and teal, with bits of other colors in that palette. I need to research more venues here in Louisville, but we’ve already fallen for one. It is pricey, so for my mom’s sake I am still going to shop around more. Oh and our guest list will probably be around 150. Haha, can you tell I’ve already had 10 months to dream it all up?

Here is my some of my inspiration (including the actual venue we are leaning towards):

I say start with budget, the size of wedding you want, and a potential guest list – including your parents guets if they get a say. That will show you exactly what it’s useful to look at.

Got 300 people invited? The place that holds 50 isn’t going to work.

We did this by telling our parents what our dream amount of people was (for us, it was small enough that we could look at every person and know their name and what our relationship is to them, and also have enough time to have a real conversation with each person), and then each of us made our dream guest list. Luckily, it jived! Then we knew we’d be looking at inviting about 125 people, and needed a venue that could hold up to probably 110, without being massive.

Then think about the feel that you want to have and seek out venues that have that feel and seat your potential number of guests. If the date is important, you’ll have to find one that’s available that date. If you’re a bit more flexible it works out well.